2009-02-02

Aika offers a very hearty tsukemen, with probably the thickest and strongest-taste broth I have had in a long while, if ever. The shop is interesting and "cozy", with two guys and a lot of steamy pots boiling. The steam condensed and droplets ran down the big glass picture windows in the cold winter weather. They have 7 chairs and one small table for two. They have both lunch and evening menus - they are both pasted on the window outside so make sure that you are looking at the correct one. There's no ticket machine. You get a tsukemen bowl full of onions and pork, and a broth that is almost like a stew - the onions are interesting since are a combination of both the chopped tama negis and the stringy type. The noodles were well-cooked, slightly thick, and had nori on top of them. Now this place is about 15-20 mins walk from JR Hachioji station, and while you walk through the shopping district (the diagonal street that runs northwest from the station), you can see a number of good ramen places. They have a ranking of 66 on Supleks - very popular and well-regarded - but there was no line (although the shop was full). If you want a full meal you might want to get the omori size though, the default noodle amount was only 200 grams.

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This web blog is for people who a) live in Tokyo, or are planning to visit Tokyo, b) love ramen, and c) do not read enough Japanese to be able to understand Japanese ramen web sites. This web site is only about Tokyo ramen, and it will give you all the information you need to enjoy ramen in Tokyo. If it doesn't have anything to do with ramen, it's not on this site. Enjoy!